– Knew this game would be close—Rutgers matches up well with Pitt. The difference was Pitt’s bench, which posted a 31-9 scoring edge. That’s why Pitt is No. 3 in the country. There was little drop-off when the subs were called upon in the second half. One of those, Seton Hall Prep grad Ashton Gibbs, buried a dagger of a 3-pointer from the left corner.

– Rutgers is playing much better offensively now that Freddie Hill has loosened the reigns and is letting his guards push the tempo. That’s where they are most comfortable.

– After Rutgers torched them in the first half, Pitt switched to zone for the first time all year. It threw Rutgers off just enough, and that’s why Jamie Dixon is one of the best in the business.

– It looks like Rutgers has turned the corner but they’re going into a hornet’s nest Saturday and I expect a blowout loss.

“We were right there,” AnthonyFarmer said. “We did the things we needed to do to win down the stretch. That’s why you’ve got to give them credit. They’re the No. 3 team in the country. They fought back and executed and pulled this one out.”

“That was the first time in all the film we watched that Pitt played zone. They had to come out what they wanted to do,” Rutgers coach Fred Hill said. “In the second half they went zone probably for about 10 possessions, and in those 10 possessions we got the ball where we wanted—-we just weren’t able to convert and finish.”

“A great effort from our bench,” Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. “Everybody gave us everything they had. We’re just very fortunate to have a lot of good players.”

“Coach told us to run, and that’s what we want to do as well,” Corey Chandler said. “Most of our points came from running.”

NOTEBOOK: Departing AD Bob Mulcahy addressed the crowd of 6,300 at halftime (great crowd for a holiday, by the way):